1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to golf tees. In particular, this invention relates to a unitary golf tee adapted to be placed upon a playing surface, the golf tee comprising a frustoconical portion, a playing surface engaging base, an upper surface and a centrally located ball support associated with the upper surface wherein the playing surface engaging base is greater in diameter than the upper surface.
2. Prior Art Statement
A golf tee having a spike point at one end and a ball receiving recess at the other end is commonly used for teeing up a golf ball on a tee box in the game of golf. Such tees are typically made of wood or thermoplastic material and are often broken when struck with a club in the process of driving the ball from the tee. Rather than pick up the pieces and discard them in a suitable receptacle, golfers usually let the broken parts, and some times whole tees, lie where driven by the club. Those familiar with the game of golf will readily appreciate that the parts of these broken tees are scattered about the tee box and for some distance therebeyond. As such, the parts are left to become thrown about still further in the regular maintenance process of mowing the tee box and the immediate surrounding area and are therefore left to biodegrade, a process which takes years for the wooden tees and decades for the thermoplastic tees. Since a golfer needs a tee every time when teeing from the tee box and the process to teeing off results in a broken or lost tee every other or every third hole, the broken or lost tees must be replaced often resulting in an additional expense to the golfer and additional debris added to the course. It is readily apparent therefore that a need exists for a durable, ecologically friendly, golf ball tee which will be picked up by the golfer each time, recycling same for use on every hole thereby contributing to a cleaner golf course while contributing as well to the wise use of the earth's resources.
Additionally, many golf courses now prohibit the use of spiked golf shoes because of wear and tear on greens as well as potential damage to tee boxes. Still, holes may be found in the tee box due to the use of conventional spike tees. Since spike less golf shoes are now required, the need for a durable, recyclable, spike less golf tee becomes apparent.
Furthermore, when forcing a spike tee into the ground, although the golfer is careful, the spike tee is still subject to tilting and therefore does not place the ball receiving socket in a parallel relationship to the playing surface. This may cause the ball to be driven incorrectly resulting in a lower score for the golfer. On some courses, it is difficult to push a spike tee into ground as the tee box surface is hard. This is especially true in hot, dry weather or climates when the tee box surface has become dried out from lack of moisture. Some golf tees have been broken by merely trying to insert them into a dry tee box surface. It is readily apparent therefore, that a golf tee which may be placed upon the surface instead of pushing same into the playing surface is sorely needed.
Even when conditions are ideal on the tee box surface, it is still difficult to achieve an accurate, consistent height placement for the ball often times from one tee box to another tee box. This may cause inconsistent driving from the tee boxes resulting in a lower score. Furthermore, a spike tee cannot be used on a flat mat, such as used at a driving range, or indoors for practice driving into a net. A golf tee which can be placed upon a flat surface without penetrating the surface is needed.
Finally, when using clubs of different lengths, a spike tee must be inserted to a different depth for different club lengths which is difficult to do for many of the above reasons. Therefore, a set of golf tees, each of unitary construction but differing heights is needed for the golfer to select for each of the groups of clubs, particularly a set of three tees one each for the long woods, the short woods/long irons and the short irons.
It is known to provide a permanent golf tee comprising a horizontal flexible disc with a ball receiving recess in the top surface; a spongy vertical cylinder having the disc secured to its top end; a downwardly and inwardly extending tapered flexible section secured to the cylinder; and an inverted rigid elongated spike cone having its base imbedded in the section and extending downwardly therefrom. For instance, see the U.S. Pat. No. 3,645,537 issued on Feb. 9, 1972 to Leo R. Parenteau or the U.S. Design Pat. No. 367,092 issued on Feb. 13, 1996 to Floyd L. Gustine.
It is also known to provide a golf ball tee comprising a first horizontal support and a second horizontal support normally connected to the first horizontal support to provide a "T" shaped structure; a downwardly extending leg from outboard ends of the supports combining to operably form a stable three point bearing contact with a ground surface, the "T" shaped structure having a solid right cylindrical golf ball supporting stanchion integrally fashioned with the horizontal supports and projecting above a surface plane thereof. For instance, see the U.S. Pat. No. 4,181,300 issued Jan. 1, 1980 to Arthur S. Bradley.
It is further known to provide a practice golf tee system adapted to be temporarily anchored into the ground comprising an elongate flexible tubular member affixed to an threaded elongated anchor, the upper end of the anchor having a tool access adapted to be engaged by an elongated handle means for inserting the anchor into the ground. For instance, see U.S. Pat. No. 4,905,999 issued on Mar. 6, 1990 to Vionovich, et al.
It is also known to provide a golf ball tee for supporting a golf ball at a predetermined height above a playing surface comprising a vertically tapered cylindrical ball support having an outwardly and downwardly extending flange at its lower end, an elongated ground engaging spike having a planar disc at its upper end, a retainer ring engaging the downwardly extending flange folded around the edges of the flange and the disc shaped member to thereby rigidly connect the support shaft to the ground engaging spike. For instance, see the U.S. Pat. No. 4,998,732 issued Mar. 12, 1991 to Thomas M. Gallant.
Additionally, it is known to provide a golf tee having a cylindrical shank pointed at one end and diverging conically into a golf ball support head at the opposite end and a support for use in cooperation therewith to support a ball at a predetermined distance above the ground, the support comprising an annual base member adapted to rest on the ground and a tubular member of less diameter than the base member adapted to surround the cylindrical shank. The tubular member may have removable elements for adjusting the height thereof. For instance see the U.S. Patent No. 5,052,689 issued on Oct. 1, 1991 to Kenneth P. Lettrich or the U.S. Pat. No. 5,242,161 issued on Sep. 7, 1993 to W. K. Wilkerson.
It is still further known to provide a combination long golf tee and short golf tee comprising a cylindrical tee member having inner and outer surfaces and an apertured stop plate at a predetermined portion of the inner surface thereof to form a recess therein, and an elongated spike tee member having a head part and a leg part, the head part being detachably fitted in to the recess. For instance, see the U.S. Pat. No. 5,221,090 issued on Jun. 22, 1993 to Bum K. Hong.
Finally, it is known to provide an adjustable height ball tee comprising a tapered body defined by plurality of separable, frangible sections of different size but the same shape, the tapered body having an upper end configured to support a ball, a lower end larger than the upper end and means on one surface of a base configured to penetrate a support surface. For instance, see the U.S. Pat. No. 5,679,081 issued on Oct. 21, 1997 to Robert Santilli.